Climb Dune 45

Dune 45 is considered as one of the most beautiful sand dunes in the world.  It is located in Sossusvlei, Namibia and is best visited in the early morning when the weather is still bareable.  It stands over 170 meters high, and is composed of 5 million year old sand that was brought by the Orange River from the Kalahari Desert. My first sand dune climbing experience wasn't quite the best, but I was willing to give it a second chance. 

 The Sunrise over the Desert

In order to climb Dune 45 meant an early start to our day.  It was still dark out when we climbed into our overland truck headed to the dune.  We drove in complete darkness through the desert (no street lights here folks), and only stopped when we would see animals on the road.  We finally stopped in front of Namib-Naukluft National Park that is home to Dune 45.  Since the park opened at sunrise, we we were able to hop off the truck and see a sunrise over the desert.  STUNNING!

Once the park opened we drove for another 30 minutes to Dune 45.  On the way we witnessed more breathtaking views...

The Road to Dune 45

 Hot air balloon ride over the desert

Once we arrived at the dune we started our climb.  Just a few steps into it I remembered why I hated sand, especially climbing it! 

 Dune 45

I started counting a hundred steps at a time, and then giving myself a little break.  A hundred steps is NOTHING to this dune.  If it could laugh in my face it would!  This little sucker was steep, and after each bulk of 100 steps I felt like I was still at the bottom!  It was like a Stairmaster but with sand.

 I am coincidentally wearing the same shirt I wore when I climbed the dune in Chile

Then my ankles started giving out, oh no, an old travel injury back to bite me in the ass!  I ignored the pain, and told myself....move on chick!  You can do it!  Yes I can!

 The side of the dune

Someone behind me told me to walk on the parts of the sand that were already imprinted with someones foot print.  That definitely helped, but I will always prefer solid ground!

 Steep little sucker!

The best part of the whole thing was running down!  Jaco, our guide, asked me, "So how was it?"  I told him, "If there was hell on Earth, it would be that dune."  During my next press conference, I think I will announce that I am officially going to retire from dune climbing!

The last step after climbing a dune...getting the sand out of your shoes!

My friend, Katrin, trying to get the sand out of her shoes! Days later we were still finding sand from the Dune!

Date Accomplished:  September 12th, 2010